NORML Day of Action on Monday, Jan. 9th – #JustSayNoToSessions

On Monday, NORML and our supporters will participate in a Day of Action to mobilize opposition to the appointment of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as US Attorney General.

Senate lawmakers will be deciding Tuesday whether Jeff Sessions is fit for the position of America’s top law enforcement officer. Unless he is willing to acknowledge that, as Attorney General, he will respect the rights of marijuana consumers in the majority of US states that have legalized the plant, we believe that he is the wrong man for the job.

Our concern is not without merit. Senator Sessions is a militant opponent of any efforts to reform marijuana policy who once notoriously remarked that the Ku Klux Klan “was okay until I found out they smoked pot.” He is a staunch proponent of the long-discredited ‘gateway theory,’ and has called on federal officials to return to the ‘Just Say No’ rhetoric of the 1980s. In fact, he was one of only 16 US Senators to receive a failing grade from NORML in our 2016 Congressional Report Card because of statements like these :

“We need grown-ups in charge in Washington to say marijuana is not the kind of thing that ought to be legalized, it ought not to be minimized, that it’s in fact a very real danger.”

“[Marijuana] cannot be played with, it is not funny, it’s not something to laugh about, and trying to send that message with clarity, that good people don’t smoke marijuana.”

Senator Sessions’ views are out of step with mainstream America and they are in conflict with the laws of over half of the states. We must demand that Senators ask this nominee whether he intends to respect the will of the voters in these states, and whether he truly believes no that “good people” have ever smoked pot.

If confirmed by the US Senate, Sen. Sessions will possess the power to roll back decades of hard-fought gains. He will have the authority to challenge the medical marijuana programs that now operate in 29 states and the adult use legalization laws that have been approved in eight states.

Will you join us in this important day of action? You can help us amplify our message by signing up for our ThunderClap HERE.

What is a Thunderclap? Think of Thunderclap as a social media flash mob. Supporters can sign up to have a mass message published to their account at a coordinated date and time. Thunderclap is similar to crowdfunding, but uses social currency instead of money. Your audience can “donate” a Tweet or Facebook post to help you spread the word. Your one tweet and post can go along way in helping us bring awareness to this important effort.

Sign up for the Thunderclap. Then, on Monday morning we will be posting in-depth directions regarding our call to action (including a suggested script for you to use when calling your US Senator) right here on norml.org . Then, on Tuesday, we will be shifting our focus to the members of the Judiciary Committee to assure that Sen. Sessions is made to defend his past statements, and is asked about whether he will respect the will of the voters moving forward.

Together, we can make our voices heard and demand that statewide marijuana laws be respected and upheld. Stand with us on Monday to send a clear message: The incoming Attorney General must not interfere with state laws that have legalized and regulated marijuana for medical or recreational purposes.